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Introduction Haemophilic pseudotumour (HP) is an encapsulated haematoma in patients with haemophilia (PWH) which has a tendency to progress and produce clinical symptoms related to its anatomical location. Aim To show the experience of one surgeon who has been using mini-invasive technique to treat pseudotumours of limbs in PWH with and without inhibitors at one centre for 28 years. Materials and methods Thirty-three patients with 39 HP were treated. All patients had haemophilia A. Twenty-four patients had no inhibitors (72.8%), and 9 had inhibitors (27.2%). The mean follow-up was 16 years (1-25). All patients had x-rays and MRIs. All of them received Buenos Aires protocol as conservative treatment for 6 weeks. MRIs were repeated after 6 weeks' treatment to assess response to treatment. Surgery was performed in patients who did not respond to conservative treatment. Results After Buenos Aires protocol, four pseudotumours did not shrink (10.24%), 33 (84.61%) shrank, and two (5.12%) healed. Thirty-seven pseudotumours had surgery, 35 pseudotumours (94.59%) healed with minimally invasive treatment, and two did not heal (5.41%). No infection was observed with this treatment. The mortality rate for the series was 0%. Conclusion The minimally invasive treatment of pseudotumours was effective in 95% of the cases and resulted in no mortality in this series after 28 years.

People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are known to show difficulties in the interpretation of human conversational facial expressions. With the recent advent of artificial intelligence, and more specifically, deep learning techniques, new possibilities arise in this context to support people with autism in the recognition of such expressions. This work aims at developing a deep neural network model capable of recognizing conversational facial expressions which are prone to misinterpretation in ASD. To that end, a publicly available dataset of conversational facial expressions is used to train various CNN-LSTM architectures. Training results are promising; however, the model shows limited generalization. Therefore, better conversational facial expressions datasets are required before attempting to build a full-fledged ASD-oriented support system.

In recent decades, the alteration of coastal food webs (via aquaculture, fishing, and leisure activities), nutrient loading, and an expansion of monitoring programs have prompted an apparent worldwide rise in Harmful Algae Blooms (HABs). Over this time, a parallel increase in HABs has also been observed in the Chilean southern austral region (Patagonia fjords). HAB species like Alexandrium catenella—responsible for Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP)—are of great public concern due to their negative socioeconomic impacts and significant northward geographical range expansion. Many toxic dinoflagellate species (like A. catenella) produce benthic resting cysts, yet a holistic understanding of the physical-chemical and biological conditions influencing the distributions of cysts in this region is lacking. In this study, we measured a combination of hydrographic (temperature, salinity, and dissolved oxygen) and sediment physical-chemical properties (temperature, pH and redox potential), in addition to meiofaunal abundances –as sediment bioturbators and potential cyst predators– to determine the factors influencing dinoflagellate cyst distribution, with emphasis on A. catenella in and around a “hotspot” area of southern Chile. An analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) test revealed significant differences (p

The dinoflagellate Alexandrium catenella is responsible for paralytic shellfish poisoning and negative socioeconomic impacts on the fishing industry and aquaculture. In Chilean Patagonia, the reasons underlying the significant increase in the geographical extension (from south to north) of A. catenella blooms during the last five decades are not well understood. To assess the potential spreading risk of A. catenella during an intense austral summer bloom, we conducted an in situ experiment in a "hotspot" of this dinoflagellate in southern Chile. The objective was to assess the accumulation of A. catenella resting cysts in passive (fishing nets) and active (mussels) dispersal agents during the phase of bloom decline. Large numbers of resting cysts were detected in fishing nets (maximum of 5334 cysts net−1 per month) at 5 m depth and in mussels (maximum of 16 cysts g−1 of digestive gland) near Vergara Island. The potential of these vectors to serve as inoculum sources and the implications of our findings for A. catenella population dynamics are discussed.

Threatened preterm labor (tPTL) is a complication of pregnancy. Identification of women and clinical definition differs between countries. This study investigated differences in tPTL and effectiveness of vaginal progesterone to prevent preterm birth (PTB) between two countries. Secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) from Argentina and Switzerland comparing vaginal progesterone to placebo in women with tPTL (n = 379). Cox proportional hazards analysis was performed to compare placebo groups of both countries and to compare progesterone to placebo within each country. We adjusted for baseline differences. Iatrogenic onset of labor or pregnancy beyond gestational age of interest was censored. Swiss and Argentinian women were different on baseline. Risks for delivery

Metabolic syndrome has been associated with nodular goiter. Our aim was to evaluate which metabolic parameters in elderly patients with metabolic syndrome are associated with thyroid enlargement or increased prevalence of thyroid nodules.In this cross-sectional study, 77 patients65 years of age with metabolic syndrome were included. We evaluated the presence of thyroid nodules and thyroid volume by ultrasonography and several biochemical, metabolic and anthropometric parameters. Only patients with thyrotropin (thyroid-stimulating hormone, TSH) levels between 0.3 and 6 mU/L were included. We further divided subjects into two groups-type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and non-T2DM and established comparisons between them.Among all parameters analyzed we found a significant correlation between glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) and volume (r=0.261, P=0.027) or number of nodules (r=0.266, P=0.023). Neither sex, age, body mass index (BMI), metformin, nor levothyroxine use were associated with thyroid volume or nodularity. Within the whole cohort, those patients with T2DM had larger thyroid volumes compared to non-T2DM [median (confidence interval, CI) 6.976 (5.220-10.789) vs. 5.034 (3.796-6.034) mL, P0.008). Furthermore, a larger proportion of T2DM patients presented thyroid volumes5.8 mL [69 vs. 23%, P0.001; odds ratio=7.25 (CI 2.04-25.56)].In elderly patients with metabolic syndrome, worse metabolic control, represented by higher HbA1c levels, was found associated to increased prevalence of thyroid nodules and larger thyroid volume. Moreover, within the whole metabolic syndrome group, patients with T2DM had the largest thyroid volumes.

Introduction Haemophilic synovitis is caused by chronic accumulation of blood in the joint. Conservative treatment is insufficient to solve this pathology. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) has a high concentration of growth factors (GFs) that play a key role in regulation and stimulation of healing processes. The aim of this study was to describe the effect of PRP injection in chronic synovitis of the joints in patients with haemophilia (PWH). Patients and methods Nineteen patients with 28 joints were treated at our centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina between December 2014 and December 2015. Eighteen were Haemophilia type A (17 severe, one mild) and one was type B severe. Mean age was 26 years old. Chronic synovitis was present in two ankles, seven elbows and 19 knee joints. All affected joints were evaluated for range of motion (ROM), perimeter, Haemophilia Joint Health Score (HJHS), number of bleedings episodes and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Evaluations were before treatment and 3 and 6 months after treatment. Results A mean volume of 4 mL of PRP was injected into the joint cavity. The statistical analysis before and after treatments revealed a statistically significant (P < 0.001) decrease in the HJHS score. Decrease in joint bleeding episodes was also statistically significant (P < 0.001). All patients reported pain relief and VAS scores were statistically significant (P < 0.001). Joint perimeter also showed a statistically significant difference (P < 0.001). No complications were observed in any of the patients, either during blood collection or during PRP injection, even for inhibitor patients. Conclusion Platelet-rich plasma is a useful, safe, and inexpensive treatment for chronic haemophilic synovitis.

Carol Dillon1, Ricardo F Allegri2, Cecilia M Serrano1, Mónica Iturry1, Pablo Salgado1, Frank B Glaser1, FernandoE Taragano21Memory Research Center, Department of Neurology, Hospital General Abel Zubizarreta, GCBA Buenos Aires, Argentina; 2Department of Neuropsychology (SIREN), CEMIC University, Buenos Aires, ArgentinaObjective: To contrast early-onset (60 years) depression in geriatric patients by evaluating differences in cognition, vascular comorbidity and sociological risk factors. Both patient groups were compared with normal subjects.Materials and methods: We recruited 76 patients with depressive symptoms (37 late onset and 39 early onset) and 17 normal controls matched by age and educational level. All subjects were assessed using a semistructured neuropsychiatric interview and an extensive neuropsychological battery. Vascular and sociological risk factors were also evaluated.Results: We found a significant variation in performance between depressive patients and normal controls in most cognitive functions, especially memory (P < 0.0001), semantic fluency (P < 0.0001), verbal fluency, and digit-symbol (P < 0.0001). Late-onset depression patients scored lower and exhibited more severe impairment in memory domains than early-onset depression patients (P < 0.05). Cholesterol levels and marital status were significantly (P < 0.05) different between the depressive groups. Both depressed groups (early- and lateonset) were more inactive than controls (P < 0.05; odds ratio: 6.02).Conclusion: Geriatric depression may be a manifestation of brain degeneration, and the initial symptom of a dementia. It is important to consider this in the treatment of patients that exhibit late-onset depressive symptoms.Keywords: early- and late-onset depression, geriatrics, cognition

Aim: Iliopsoas Haemorrhage (IPH) is a well-recognized complication of haemophilia. The aim of this paper is to show thecurrent epidemiology of IPH in patients with haemophilia (PWH) treated at Argentinean Haemophilia Foundation, and observethe evolution of the treatment of the disease over the years. Patients and methods: The 1995 series included 109 PWH with 223 episodes of IPH. Eighty-six (80.4%) patients hadHaemophilia A and twenty-one (19.6%) had Haemophilia B, mean age was 18 years old. The 2008-2013 series included thirty-sixPWH with sixty-five episodes of IPH. Twenty-nine (80.6%) patients with Haemophilia A and seven patients (19.4%) withHaemophilia B, all were severe. Seven patients with inhibitors and Haemophilia A, mean age was 22.1 years old. Results: We found statistically significant differences between relation to the age ( p : .003). In 2008-2013 series all patients hadsevere Haemophilia (100%). Only eleven (30.6%) patients presented previous IPH. In the pre 1995 series, twelve (12.1%) weremild, forty (40.4%) moderate and forty-seven (47.5%) severe. Forty-nine (45.8%) patients presented previous IPH. We onlyfound statistically significant differences when comparing the degree of the disease between series ( p : .001). Conclusion: The usage of clotting factor concentrates, prophylactic therapy protocols by patients have contributed to increasethe age of appearance IPH and decreased the prevalence rate of this pathology.

If financial distress comes with such big costs, why do firms not take further precautionary measures to avoid it? I focus on a specific form of financial distress costs, those associated with asset fire-sales, and show that the contest for monopoly power among firms with financial constraints leads them to expend insufficient efforts to avoid financial distress. The clearest prediction that results from the analysis is that equilibrium distress costs should increase with the rents associated to monopoly power in the product market in which firms operate.

Introduction and objective Vascular development is critical in tumor biology and targeted therapies against angiogenesis process have proven their therapeutic efficacy. Neuropilin-1 (NPR1), a membrane glycoprotein that works as a receptor for semaphorins, is also a co-receptor for VEGF-A165 and it is expressed in endothelial cells and in many other tumors. Very few studies about this protein in primary and secondary tumors have been reported with contradictory conclusions1,2. The aim of this study is to analyze the relationship between the expression of NRP1 in colorectal cancer patients in primary tumor and metastases and clinical and pathologic features, treatment response, progression-free interval and overall survival. Patients and methods From 1995 to 2010, 70 patients with available biological material in paraffin of primary tumor and metastases (liver and/or lung) have been selected. NRP1 expression was performed using immunohistochemistry with neuropilin-1 Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody Catalog # 2621-1 (ATOM) at 1:75 dilution. Vascular endothelium was used as positive control and tumor sample without antibody as negative control. Clinical and pathological data of patients, treatments administered, toxicity, response, progression-free interval and overall survival were registered. Results The mean age of patients was 63 years. 51 patients (85%) were adenocarcinoma and 46 patients (76%) were moderately differentiated. 34 patients (56.7%) presented metastatic disease at the moment of primary tumor diagnosis. NRP1 expression exists in 100% (120) of samples analyzed. Conclusions In our study, in contrast to latest published data2, no differences about intensity and frequency of expression of NRP1 were found between primary and metastatic samples. It is not possible to establish any relationship between tumor response to treatment and evolution. References: 1. Parikh AA, Fan F, Liu WB, et al. Neuropilin-1 in human colon cancer: expression, regulation, and role in induction of angiogenesis. Am J Pathol 2004;164:2139-51. 2. Jubb AM, Strickland LA, Liu SD, Mak J, Schmidt M, Koeppen H. Neuropilin-1 expression in cancer and development. J Pathol 2012;226:50-60. Disclosure All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.